I'm done. Everything is bought/ordered. Finally bought my parents theater tickets which I am dead chuffed about, its in Manchester too so I am going to cook them a 3 course meal at mine before they go.I fully intended to only get Raphi four things for christmas. One thing she wants, one thing she needs, one thing to wear and one thing to read. Well, she's ended up with a balance bike [which was actually meant for her birthday last month but had to send it back], helmet, three dr seuss books, mittens, large wooden jigsaw and paints, brushes and pots for her art corner... -_- it's hard because her birthday and christmas are just over a month apart, she has to wait a WHOLE year for presents so I accumulate quite a list of things she wants/needs.

But then we also went to a friend's house on Sunday and Malka fell in love with their baby doll and mini stroller, so we went to Toys R Us and she went crazy with a stroller. We also bought matchbox cars for her (supposed to be 3+, but look way too big for her to choke on), because she loves to steal other kids'. We are still looking for a baby doll. Anyone have a favorite? This one is kind of cute: http://www.amazon.com/Manhattan-Toy-130 ... =baby+doll

Malka really liked the Cabbage Patch Kids, but I'm not spending $60 on a doll for a one year old.

I bought it! We went to the manufacturer's site and there was one my husband liked better (the one that looks much more french according to him), but it wasn't available on Amazon. Also, weirdly, the boy doll on Amazon is the cheapest one.

Yay! Yeah, I really love that doll. It's the perfect size for a toddler (so many of them seem too big these days) and it's a nice weight, and it smells good and the face doesn't make me want to hide it in a closet so it can't kill me in my sleep.

Corolle has a tannish doll, an Asian one, and a supposed-to-be-black one. Very weirdly on Amazon, the non-white dolls and the boy doll are all cheaper than the white girl dolls. As far as I can tell, they don't have a non-white boy.

The North American Bear dolls are also really cute, we looked at those, too.

I'm reviving this thread because I'd like to do something for my friend's baby, but she'll only be 3 months at the end of Dec. My friend got so.much.stuff at her baby shower but a lot of it seemed pretty useless, like stuffed animals and toys the baby can't use till she's much older. I'm sure she's going to be showered with more stuff at Christmas, so I want to be really thoughtful in what I give her. I don't mind doing something small as long as it's not going to be more clutter. Or, it could be something baby-related for my friend. Or, just cash? Is that tacky? Any ideas from the wise PPK parents?

At 3 months, I think toys are pretty pointless as gifts unless it's something special (like, if you made it). I always liked getting clothing at that age! I think you mentioned knitting something for your friend before so this might be another good opportunity to crank out a baby sweater if the spirit moves you.

You know, when L was 3 months old, I really wanted to get out a bit or have a bit of a break. Would you be interested in giving your friend a board book for the baby and voucher for a home made meal, and you can then hang out and read to the baby while she showers or does other stuff?

_________________My oven is bigger on the inside, and it produces lots of wibbly wobbly, cake wakey... stuff. - The PoopieB.

Babynut likes to bring in the mail...now I know why so many catalogs are sent out! She sees whatever and starts to beg. I've already let her read a catalog to my mom on FaceTime, to give her ideas for gifts (we have birthday, and christmakah). So far, anything related to elmo is hot.

Malka "gets" presents now, so now I feel inclined to get her presents. I'm thinking something like a chocolate coin each night of Chanukah or a small ball or just 8 dreidels (I think that would be kind of hilarious) or socks with animals on them or stickers maybe. There are lots of sets of little trucks or cars she would like, but we just got her a new set of five trucks. I am drowning in trucks and balls over here.

We just bought her this book at Costco with a train you wind up and then you open the book to various pages and the train has a track that it runs in. If you have anyone in your life who loves trains and also loves books, this thing is actually amazing. Blanking on the name of it right now. little red train something.

Husband wants to get a xylophone, but I'm not sold on that idea. (Not a toy like we have now, but a real grown-up xylophone. I think it's a bit much).

I've already got some books (heavy duty usborne books about trains and construction and firefighters), I knit some mittens, and he'll get some trains and tracks to add to his set. Maybe I'll get duplos if I'm feeling generous. We've also got a late November birthday to deal with.

Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:51 amPosts: 8120Location: United States of New England

couroupita wrote:

I'm reviving this thread because I'd like to do something for my friend's baby, but she'll only be 3 months at the end of Dec. My friend got so.much.stuff at her baby shower but a lot of it seemed pretty useless, like stuffed animals and toys the baby can't use till she's much older. I'm sure she's going to be showered with more stuff at Christmas, so I want to be really thoughtful in what I give her. I don't mind doing something small as long as it's not going to be more clutter. Or, it could be something baby-related for my friend. Or, just cash? Is that tacky? Any ideas from the wise PPK parents?

like people have said 3 months is not really a toy age. BabyPunk is 6 months old and we're still using the toys we've had since birth.i cant remember when touch and feel books became a hit but that would be my #1 suggestion. if they arent into them ta 3 months they will be at 4-5 months.

and then stupid Sophie the giraffe is actually a big hit here. its like the #1 toy right now and i think it's really stupid and boring looking but we got it as a gift i kept dragging it out and beign like "you're supposed to like this stupid thing" and she would be uninterested but wouldnt you know it right when she started to want to chew on everything Sophie became the best toy ever!it's stupidly expensive for what it is but i guess that would make it a good gift. i wouldnt have bought one for myself because im cheap but im glad we got one cause it's good for chewing.

we actually havent even discussed "how" we will be celebrating the holidays with her yet. my family is Catholic and my husband's family is Jewish and neither one of us believes in anything so usually we decorate for both holidays, light the Menorah and do presents on Xmas. some years we get a tree some years we dont.we have no plans on raising BP religiously so we may just stick with what we do so she can have an understanding of different religions and how they celebrate.Hanukkah is so early this year we wont even be home. when does it start? like the day after Thanksgiving? we'll be with my in laws which works out since they are the ones who are Jewish so we can spend at least part of Hanukkah with them

If you want to get something for a 3 month old, I would say a 6, 9, or 12 month sized outfit would be helfpul, or maybe a nice sleep sack if they don't have them and it's a cold climate. I love getting solid color neutral basics for when they wreck one half of an outfit. Socks are also more useful as the weather cools, and if they don't have a set, Sock Ons are tremendously helpful. Zulily sold us a "12 days of Christmas" sock set that was very cute, but not explicitly Christmasy (so it could be worn after the holidays).

I'm also a big fan of books because while they may not necessarily be reading to the kid a lot now, that time will definitely come! What I liked at the earliest ages were those big board books where it just has pictures with a single word under them. They're good for playing "find the…" with kids and I assume later for the most basic word recognition.

We also have a few sets of these cards and I thought they were super great at <18 months. I'm not a big believer in drilling toddlers with flash cards or anything but V loved naming the different words (and animals on the animal set, vehicles on the others, etc). They also have nice textures and are thick and hard to destroy:

Speaking of flash cards - my sister got us the Munchkin brand Traveling flash cards which has been my son's favorite for the last 3 months. He loves flipping the cards and I think enjoys the slick texture of them and then has fun carrying them around by the handle of of course chewing on the handle. I honestly was unimpressed when we got them and have been blown away by how much he enjoys them. Mommy is tried of reading through them a billion times everyday though so sometimes they get "accidently" dropped behind the couch cushions ;) Anyway I recommend for the around 1 year old set.